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Science, Engineering, and Education Research Grant Awards (SEERGA)

Policy and Guidelines

Funds have been made available to the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education by the USI Foundation to support research endeavors by College faculty. The following will serve as policy guidelines for non-tenured College faculty seeking a research grant award, and for the Science and Engineering Research Grant Awards (SEERGA) Committee charged with selecting award recipients. Generally, proposals are funded for an amount not to exceed $5,000.

Purposes

With these awards, the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education encourages and supports non-tenured faculty scholarship. Proposals for applied or basic research are invited. Proposals to initiate new research, continue research in progress, or complete a project are eligible for funding.

Procedures

SEERGA Committee. The SEERGA program will be administered by the Dean of the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education through a faculty committee chaired by the Assistant Dean of the College and consisting of one representative of each of the College's constituent departments. The Assistant Dean will be a non-voting member of the committee unless his or her vote is needed to break a tie. The committee will be responsible for reviewing proposals submitted for funding to the SEERGA program and recommending to the College Dean which proposals should be funded. Departmental representatives to the SEERGA committee will be selected in a manner determined by the Department Chair. Committee members will serve a two-year term. Members of the SEERGA committee may submit grant proposals to this program; however, no committee member will be permitted to participate in evaluation, ranking, or funding decisions regarding any proposal in which he or she is a participant.

Proposals. Each fall, the Office of the Dean of the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP). Non-tenured College faculty are eligible to apply for an award. A non-tenured faculty member or group of non-tenured faculty members must submit the original plus one copy of the proposal to the Office of the Dean by the deadline indicated in the RFP. Ordinarily this deadline will be November 1. Proposals must follow the Proposal Outline, including space and content limitations. Late proposals will not be considered.

Evaluation. The SEERGA committee will evaluate all proposals meeting guidelines and addressing all components of the Proposal Outline and assign them an order of priority. Merit of the project, as well as the investigator's past record of producing publications, presentations or other tangible results from their prior research endeavors (or, in the case of new or non-tenure track faculty, potential for producing publishable/presentable/tangible results), will be the primary factors considered in funding proposals. The Committee will carefully evaluate the project budget and Budget Worksheet. Awards may fully or partially fund a proposal. Committee decision and applicant notification will be made by letter from the Office of the Dean approximately one month after the application deadline. Awards will be made by the Office of the Dean with consideration of the Committee's priorities and funding level recommendations.

Start-up. Award recipients must work with the Office of the Dean to establish the necessary grant account and budget categories. The Dean will act as fiscal agent for all grant accounts.

Final Reports. One month after the close of the funding period, an award recipient will submit a report describing the results of the work performed. New proposals from a past recipient will not be considered if a report is overdue. In unusual circumstances a recipient may apply for a funding period extension by submitting a status report to the committee. Contact the Assistant Dean for specific instructions. When available, copies of any publications, abstracts, and/or reports generated by the project should be submitted to the Office of the Dean and the SEERGA committee.

Interim Status Reports. Faculty who have not completed a previously awarded SEERGA or whose final report is not past due when the next funding cycle begins, must submit an interim status report to be eligible for another SEERGA. Contact the Assistant Dean for specific instructions.

Publicity and Acknowledgements. The Dean of the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education and the USI Foundation may publicize awards and results of projects. The recipient will acknowledge the USI Foundation when a funded proposal leads to presentation or publication of a paper, or other tangible outlet for results.

Other Considerations

Financial Gains. If a recipient received financial benefit as a direct result of the award, then the recipient may be required to reimburse the SEERGA fund the amount of the award. In addition, recipients must comply with university policy regarding intellectual property management.

Other Funding Sources. Applicants are encouraged to seek additional/multiple funding sources for projects. SEERGA awards can be used in conjunction with other awards (external and/or internal). The SEERGA committee may advise the applicant to seek alternate or additional funding.

SEERGA Proposal Outline

Applicants submitting a proposal for a SEERGA award will follow the outline below. Proposals will consist of a title page and project summary, project description, budget worksheet, literature cited and faculty curriculum vitae. Please include page numbers.